Dan will probably move this to "Coffees," but I had to report my own first "godshot" in months, poured this evening from a single origin. This was an eye-opener for me, because I am not normally a fan of S.O. espresso.

It was a 2007 Brazil Cachoiera "Taste of the Harvest" Reserve Lot, this month's "Experimental Espresso Club" offering from Andrew Barnett of Ecco Caffe. I updosed a Faema double basket on my PID'd Zaffiro at [EDIT] 200.5F and poured 1.75 oz in 28 seconds. The result was an enormously complex, bittersweet fruitcup with thick body. NO, I do not expect to repeat this masterpiece any time soon. But, this coffee has been consistently very, very good, nonetheless.

Marshall wrote:Dan will probably move this to "Coffees," but I had to report my own first "godshot" in months....It was a 2007 Brazil Cachoiera "Taste of the Harvest" Reserve Lot, this month's "Experimental Espresso Club" offering from Andrew Barnett of Ecco Caffe....The result was an enormously complex, bittersweet fruitcup with thick body.

It goes without saying that you evaluated this shot in milk, of course.

AndyS wrote:It goes without saying that you evaluated this shot in milk, of course.

A latte, actually.

Marshall wrote:I had to report my own first "godshot" in months,
It was a 2007 Brazil Cachoiera "Taste of the Harvest" Reserve Lot,

Just finished a QP roasted by a friend of mine about three weeks ago. I'm not sure what you experienced was a god shot, as I had shot after shot come out just like that with that bean.
This was not only a flavour that reminded one of blackberries, but actually tasted of blackberries! Blueberries, too!
Yeah, that was nice...

Already lots of strong opinions here and it's probably all been said re: inconsistency of the beans themselves and the nature/level of irreproducibility in complex systems, the nature of the lingo, etc., but by way of one more experience, re: (3) I believe I can consistently taste 1 degree F or lower changes with some coffees in some ranges, within the drinkable range (i.e., get good shots at both temps that taste consistent, and consistently different, such that I can repeat the resulting change with similar results).

JimWright wrote:. . . get good shots at both temps that taste consistent, and consistently different. . . . (emphasis added)

I've never pretended that I am an expert when it comes to coffee and espresso. Indeed, I've never called myself anything more than an "experienced newbie." But let me return, for a moment to the world of wine (something that I do know a little about).

One of the things I would always tell my students is that every winery in California (indeed the world, but let's keep focused) "does the same thing, but they do it differently." We all crush grapes, ferment the juice, age it for a particular length of time, and stick it in a bottle. But at each and every step, there are a number of different ways, options, that a winemaker can take, the result being that two winemakers can get the same grapes picked from the same vineyard on the same day and at the same level of ripeness . . . and yet still make radically different wines, both of which are outstanding . . . or, the differences between the two finished wines may be quite subtle, yet distinct, and still be outstanding, each in its own right. (Of course, each wine may also be $#! -- the vinous equivalent of a "sink shot," but let's not go there.)

The short answer is that there is more than one way to skin the proverbial cat: updose or down; finer grind or more coarse; heavy tamp or light; flat burr set or conical (or a hybrid) -- the options go on and on, and just like "DB or HX," both can produce great shots . . . but different!

Agreed Jason - I guess I could have qualified further, i.e. for some coffees, shots at 1 degree apart can be consistently different in a relatively consistent way, along with the many inconsistent ways created either deliberately or by my laggard barista skills.

cafeIKE wrote:All I gotta say is if the OP is pulling gshots every day, that locale must be some kind of espresso black hole and his consumption is depriving the rest of us.

It certainly ain't in MY neck of the woods.
I will say, in general, FOR ME/YMMV single basket shots are rockin' MY world.

Of course no one has brought up atheism into the discussion yet, but at least we now have "heresy."

Rob, I, too, have a penchant for singles. However, to go back to Dan's post elsewhere on this page:

HB wrote:I wonder if your results would hold with blends other than Vivace's. David Schomer's penchant for updosing is renowned. I've only been to his shop once and the lattes were wonderful. He was also serving straight espressos at the conference from his booth; as I recall, its taste profile wasn't my preference.

Roasters optimize a blend for the expected preparation. Now that I think about it, your recipe may not be far off Schomer's recommendations, e.g., extreme updosing, high brew temperature, ultra flat temperature profile. A brew temperature of 96C is very hot and Robusta blends like Schomer's are the only ones I know that can tolerate such heat.

While this is no doubt true, my Elektra frowns on updosing . . . at least in a double basket. My shots are generally 14.5g, and pulled at approx. 22-24 seconds (stopped on blonding, not time). But in a single basket, I can updose to 10 grams pulled at roughly the same time (again, stopped on blonding). While I enjoy both, it's the singles that stick out in my mind as being "god-like."

FWIW, this is not the case with my La Val, where I prefer shots from my double basket. And since I only have one basket for the Olympia Cafferex and the Caravel, I have nothing to compare these to.

Cheers,
Jason

This is a good thread. I don't know how polite it is to resurrect this but I was hoping for more experiences or loves of blends, or coffees in particular.

I can't claim a single great shot but I've felt the God in some Lavazza, some Illy some local roasts, a great premium Robusta, so on and so forth.

I have come really close with my 1st Brazilian Cerrado home roast, a great Yirga CHeffe SO and a lovely Moka Kadir from sweet Marias. I think the grace of the God Shot can be felt and experienced many places.